The Ninth Configuration: What's it all about?

Concept Notes

The album name is directly drawn from the 1980 cult classic movie, "The Ninth Configuration" by William Peter Blatty, although that is where the comparisons end. The track titles themselves are a combination of titles that were originally intended for use on the now spent Blue Sunshine LP, titles that were conjured up during writing, and some that just sounded really rather nice on the tongue. "Nazi Moon Base" for example, was actually the name of a KDice player we happened across a few years ago, and it just kind of stuck in the mind, refusing to leave - while "Rear View Mirror" was originally intended to be "Rear View Killer" from the now defunct Naked Alpha EP. Quite a few of the titles have changed, either due to rewrites or because they just didn't sound as good as they did at first.

When Brubaker and Madds set about writing this album, they didn't set out to 'evolve' hip-hop or make a vain attempt to save it, because as far as they were concerned, it didn't (and still doesn't) need saving. The notion that samples, breaks and cuts are a thing of the past is not only contradictary, it defies the very thing that made hip-hop such a global success. So they got to thinking. Why not make a 21st Century UK hip-hop album that sounds like something from the golden era of rap, but using samples and interpolations exclusively from the seventies and eighties? What would that sound like? We'll let you decide what it sounds like, but rest assured there will be moments when you are absolutely 'sure' you've heard the sample before... but you just can't quite place it.

Skits, Sketches & Scrap Metal

The Official Track List... Really

As with all alchemy, be it musical or otherwise, there are always accidents. Some good, some bad and some just need to be hidden away in a room and never spoken of again. One of Brubaker's trademarks that has featured on all the projects he has been involved in, is the audio skit or sketch, and these feature heavily on The Ninth Configuration. Perhaps the most daring of these is 'The Westwood Incident', which involves a a crank call to the Radio 1 DJ, Tim Westwood. Needless to say the results were quite interesting. Whenever vocals are recorded, there are mistakes - and when Brubaker records vocals, there are lots of mistakes. Hundreds infact, and it just so happens that Madds was kind enough to keep the recordings. Needless to say, some of the 'best' bits will feature on the LP.

So here it is, the official track list that may or may not change, depending on how fickle Brubaker and Madds feel at the time.

01: Classic Case 02: Drop The Bottle 03: Coup De Grâce 04: Nightshade 05: Nazi Moon Base 06: Pillow Talk 07: The Long Con 08: Uninvited Guest 09: Silent Witness